The Six Keepers
by Goldwyn11
Summary: Arc one of my Yu-Gi-Oh! Infinity Soul series. Alex Yuson, an up-and-coming duelist is chosen by a special monster to unite the Six Keepers, and use the power of the Guardians of Infinity to save the world from Oblivion
1. Chapter 1

_**Dr. Marius**_

"I think you're really going to be impressed, Mr. Marius."

"It's Dr. Marius, actually, Headmaster." So far, Dr. Marius was most certainly _not_ impressed. He had already been to over 30 different schools in the state looking for top notch duelists, but none had fit the bill. Then, just as his deadline to find duelists was looming menacingly over his head, Dr. Marius had received a call from the headmaster of a duel school in Keystone City about a supposedly talented duelist named Alex Yuson.

The school itself wasn't much to look at. It was a tad run down, and it wasn't exactly on the best side of town. Dr. Marius had researched the students thoroughly. No student attending the school had an average higher than an 89, except for this Yuson kid who was at the top of the class with a perfect 100%, and he was toting a perfect undefeated record in all school exhibition matches. Perhaps this kid could be just what Dr. Marius was looking for.

 **...**

Alex was so excited he was quaking where he stood. When the headmaster had told him that someone important would be coming to watch his match today, he had literally jumped up and cheered. This was his big chance to make it into the pro leagues!

His opponent was one of his classmates: a boy named Peter Johansson. Peter was a rather stocky kid who always wore the same baseball cap every day. Alex had heard that Peter had actually volunteered to be his opponent. Supposedly he had put together a deck that would finally dethrone the great Alex Yuson.

 _Yeah right._

Alex looked up and saw the headmaster take his seat. Another man wearing an overcoat and glasses with his hair in a ponytail filed in behind him. That must be the important visitor!

"Students, quiet down!" The other students in the bleachers silenced themselves immediately. Alex braced himself. "Let the duel begin!" The headmaster was never one for speeches.

"Duel!" Alex and Peter exclaimed simultaneously, activating their duel disks.

(DUEL START: Alex LP: 4000 / Peter LP: 4000)

"I'll go first!" Peter declared. "And I'll start with my _Genome Dragon_!" Peter slapped the card on to his duel disk and a small, purple dragon sprang to life on the field (000/800) "Then I'll lay down a face down and activate my dragon's ability! By paying 500 life points, I can summon another copy of him from my deck! But why stop there when I can do it twice?" (4000 - 1000 = 3000)

Two more dragons appeared. Alex knew what was coming next: a Soul Summon.

Soul Summoning was relatively new to the world of Duel Monsters. How it worked was, if the monsters on a player's field met a certain set of requirements, they could be moved to special zones called Gate Zones. When there were cards in a player's Gate Zones, that player can summon a Soul Monster.

"I open the Soul Gate!" Peter exclaimed as a large, glowing circle appeared on the field. Peter's three dragons burst into particles of light and dissolved into the center. Three Gate Zones flipped up from under Peter's duel disk blade, and he transferred his dragons to them. The circle began glowing with brilliant, yellow light. "And now I Soul Summon _Golden Ray Dragon_!" A column of light erupted from the Soul Gate, and from it emerged a golden, glowing dragon. " _Golden Ray Dragon_ gains 1000 ATK points for every card in my hand." Peter had three cards, giving his dragon 3000 ATK points. "I end my turn."

Alex didn't trust Peter's face down card. What he didn't know was that Peter had laid down _Bottomless Trap Hole_ , which could destroy and banish any monster with 1500 or more ATK points.

"I draw!" Alex drew his card, quite pleased with the result. Time to end this duel. Or, perhaps a better phrase would be... "Time to take it to the max!" Alex exclaimed. Peter started to get nervous. Alex usually uttered that catchphrase right before he won. But not even Alex Yuson could win in one turn!

Could he?

"For starters, I'm placing one card face down," Alex said, "then I'm playing Mystical Space Typhoon!" Peter cursed. Alex was about to take out his Trap Hole! "And I'll use it on _my_ facedown!"

This drew a small bit of laughter from the audience as Alex's own card was sucked into a tornado and destroyed. "What was the point of that?" Peter asked.

"The point was to put that on your monster!" Peter looked up and noticed his dragon was now attached by a chain to a floating metal ball. "See, the card I destroyed was the Trap Card, _Aqua Mine_. When it's destroyed, every monster on the field gets a Mine Counter put on it."

"What do those do?"

"I'll let you know in a second. Next, it's time for me to summon out my ultimate monster!" Peter smirked. He readied his Trap Hole. "Come on out, _Bubble Magician_!"

A small wizard wearing a cloak decorated in pictures of bubbles appeared on the field (1300/1100). Peter cursed under his breath. He couldn't play his Trap Hole. Still, this dumb magician was way weaker than his dragon. He had this duel in the bag.

" _Bubble Magician_ , attack!"

"What's the point?" Peter scoffed. "He's 1700 points weaker than my dragon!"

"True," Alex said slyly, "but, whenever a monster with a Mine Counter on it is attacked, that monster is destroyed, and its owner takes damage equal to its ATK points."

"Wait, what?!"

"Go, _Bubble Magician_! Magic Bubble Barrage!"

 _Bubble Magician_ pointed its wand at the mine attached to Peter's dragon, firing a stream of bubbles at it. The bubbles struck the mine, causing it to explode, destroying Peter's monster, as well as the rest of his life points (4000 - 3000 = 0. WINNER: ALEX).

The crowd cheered as Alex left the field. "So, Dr. Marius," the headmaster said, "what do you think? Is Alex good enough to enter your tournament?" The headmaster didn't notice, but Dr. Marius' eyes flashed bright blue for a moment.

"I think he's the one I've been looking for."


	2. Chapter 2

_**The Infinity Foundation**_

"Sweet duel, Alex!"

"You totally mopped the floor with Peter!"

"That was your best win yet!"

"Thank you, thank you." Alex said to his adoring public as he walked down the halls of Keystone Duel School. Normally, he would take some time to bask in the glory of his latest victory, but, just a few minutes ago, he had been called into the headmaster's office to discuss his match.

He knocked on the door, which was followed by a hearty "Come in, Alex." Alex entered the office to find the headmaster sitting at his desk. The man Alex had seen before was standing behind him. "Alex," the headmaster said, always quick to get to the point, "this is Dr. Marius. He represents an organization called-"

"The Infinity Foundation." Dr. Marius interrupted. "I'll take it from here, headmaster, if you could give us some privacy."

The headmaster looked peeved, but left his office. "Now then," Dr. Marius went on, "allow me to explain why I am here. The Infinity Foundation is an organization dedicated to the betterment of life for all. As a way to garner publicity, the foundation is organizing a special dueling tournament. First prize is $50,000. Tell me, Alex, are you familiar with Survival Dueling?"

"Of course!" Survival Dueling was all the rage right now all over the world. It involved placing a group of duelists in an environment meant to test their survival skills. Contenders were eliminated when their life points reached zero, and would be air-lifted out of the dueling field, but they could also forfeit at any time if the conditions got too harsh for them. The real kicker was that each contender only had 4000 life points for the whole competition. If you lost life points, they would stay lost until either they were replenished or until they hit zero. Alex usually spent most, if not all, of his free time watching Survival Duel competitions on TV and the Internet.

"Well, the foundation is organizing a Survival Duel tournament for the best up-and-coming duelists in the country, and I think you just might be what I'm looking for." Alex could barely contain his excitement! Finally, a chance to really show off his dueling skills! "If you're interested," Dr. Marius continued, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a plane ticket, "be at the airport tomorrow at 9:00 sharp."

Dr. Marius left the office, allowing the headmaster to re-enter. "So, what did he say?" He asked Alex.

"He wants me to compete in some huge tournament." Alex suddenly had a realization. "Doesn't that mean I'll miss school?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. I discussed it with your teachers, and we decided to let you pass on into the next year. After all, the school year is almost over, and you have perfect grades after all."

Alex went home that day feeling as though he was walking on air. A duel tournament that could take him straight to the pro league, and no school when he returns until next year? He didn't think his life could get any better!

"I'm home." He called as he walked in the front door of his house.

"ALEEEEEX!" Alex was suddenly hit by a tiny, blonde freight train of a hug.

"Hey, Sadie. You have fun at school today?"

Alex's little sister, Sadie, was just about the cutest, most energetic being in existence. She was pretty much the most important person in his life. "I had a great day!" Sadie squealed. "We got to color our own Duel Monsters cards, and Mrs. Applebee said mine was her favorite! Then, at recess..."

Alex patiently waited for Sadie to stop talking. Sometimes she could talk for hours straight without stopping. "Hey, mom." Alex said as his mother came into the foyer.

"Hi, Alex. How was school today?"

"Great! I have some awesome news to tell you guys!"

The three of them sat down in the living room so Alex could tell them about what Dr. Marius had told him.

"Alex, that's amazing! I'm so proud of you!" His mother said, beaming. "And I'm sure your father would be proud too."

The mood in the room changed at the mention of Alex's father. Sam Yuson was a professional duelist, one of the best on the Survival Dueling circuit. He had taught Alex everything he knew about dueling. Six years ago, though, he disappeared in the middle of a competition. Rescue workers searched the area for weeks, but found no trace of him. All they could find was a single card: _Dimensional Fissure_ : Sam's favorite card. Alex kept it in a frame up in his bedroom.

"Oh, by the way, Alex, Tyler stopped by earlier today." Alex's mom said, quick to change the subject. "He said he had some big news to tell you."

"Thanks, mom. I'm gonna go call him." Alex rushed up to his room to see that Tyler was already trying to video chat him. The icon on his computer was blinking away.

Tyler and Alex had been friends since kindergarten. They had done practically everything together, until recently when Tyler was transferred to a different school across town. Still, they tried to hang out as much as possible.

"Hey, Ty!" Alex said, answering the chat request. Tyler's face appeared on the screen.

"Dude! You'll never guess what happened to me today!" Tyler responded.

"Wait, let me tell my news first. I just scored a spot in a huge Survival Duel tournament!"

"Whoa, really? That's… Great, dude!" Tyler said, not sounding all that enthused, but Alex was too excited to notice.

"So, what's your news?"

"Uh… Well, I got a totally sweet new card!"

"Awesome! What is it?"

"Uh… Oop. That's my dad calling. Gotta go." Tyler shut off the connection.

It seemed odd that Tyler would leave so quickly, but Alex dismissed it. He had a lot of work to do if his deck was going to be ready for the tournament.


	3. Chapter 3

_**The Keeper of Water**_

 _Are you sure that you have found him?_

 _Yes. He is the one. I can feel it._

 _And you trust that he will be able to find the others?_

 _Yes. Let the others know that the Keeper of Water has been found._

 **...**

"Alex! Alex! ALEEEX!"

"Zzz... I'll play a Spell card... Zzz..."

"Alex, you're going to be late for your flight!"

"Zzz... Better win fast... Gonna be late for... For... MY FLIGHT!"

Alex shot out of bed like a cannon, grabbing his clock to check the time. A scream of terror filled the air as Alex saw that he was incredibly late to meet Dr. Marius at the airport. He got dressed and rushed downstairs as quick as he could.

"There you are!" His mom said as he jumped the last three steps. "I've been calling you for ten minutes!"

"Mom, I love you, but less talky more drivey to the airport."

Just as they were heading out the door, Sadie came running up to them. "Wait, Alex! I have a present for you!" She handed him a rather poorly wrapped rectangular package. Alex opened it up to see that inside was a card. But not just any card. A Soul Monster. "It's _Siren Queen Amphitrite_!" Sadie said.

Alex's mom chuckled. "She asked for an advance on her next three allowances to buy you that card yesterday." She said.

"Promise me you'll use it in the tournament."

Alex smiled. God, he loved his sister. "I promise. Now, come on, mom! Time's a-wasting!"

It was a close shave, but Alex managed to make it to the gate with just two minutes to spare. Dr. Marius was already there waiting, toting a carry-on bag with him.

"Ah, Alex. I was starting to think you wouldn't make it."

"Well, I did. Let's get on the plane. I got a tournament to win!"

"Actually, Alex, speaking of the tournament, there's one more thing you have to do so that I can make sure you're... Worthy." Dr. Marius reached into his carry-on and pulled out a duel disk. "Let's duel!"

Alex was dumbstruck. "Here? Now? We only have a minute before the plane leaves!"

Dr. Marius smirked. "That's not a problem." He snapped his fingers. Suddenly, everything around them froze. People rushing to catch their flights were stopped in their tracks, planes taking off were frozen in midair. It was as if time had just stopped.

"What the-? How did-?"

"Enough talk!" Dr. Marius said sternly. "Let's duel! Prove to me that you're worthy, Alex Yuson!"

Although he was still curious about how time has stopped, Alex was never one to pass up a duel. He took out his duel disk and inserted his deck. "Game on!"

(DUEL START. Alex LP: 4000 / Dr. Marius LP: 4000)

"I'll go first." Said Dr. Marius. "I'll set one monster in face-down Defense Mode, then I'll place two cards face down and end my turn."

"Alright. My turn!" Alex drew and took a look at his hand. "I summon _Seacreat Stinger Zele_!" A jellyfish clad in golden armor appeared on the field (ATK: 1200). "Zele, attack his face down!" Zele's tentacles whipped at the face-down monster (DEF: 1000) destroying it easily. "Yes!"

But Dr. Marius seemed simply amused. "Fool. The monster you destroyed is known as _Soul Droplet_. And when it's destroyed, I can pay 1000 life points to summon two more copies of it from my deck." (4000 - 1000 = 3000) Two small beings made of bright blue water appeared on the field (ATK: 0).

"I place one card face down and end my turn."

Dr. Marius chuckled and drew. "It's time, Alex." He said ominously.

"T-time for what?"

"Time to show you what true power looks like! First, I reveal one of my face-downs: _Call of the Haunted_! And I'll use it to bring back my first _Soul Droplet_!" A third being of water appeared on the field. "Next, I open the Soul Gate!" Three Gate Zones flipped up on Dr. Marius' duel disk, and he transferred his three droplets to them. "I Soul Summon the ruler of the seas! The king of the changing tides! Come forth, _Guardian of Change - Marius_!"

The Soul Gate erupted with a column of rainbow colored flames, and from those flames emerged a humanoid creature. It had pale skin, resembling marble, and a beard and long hair tied in a ponytail, both the color of kelp. It wore red armor, resembling the shell of a lobster, with one arm ending in a large lobster claw and the other one holding a trident (ATK: 2500).

"Now I activate Marius' special ability! I take one monster from my Gate Zones and summon it to the field…" One of Marius' _Soul Droplets_ popped out of the Soul Gate back on to the field (ATK: 0). "Now, my _Soul Droplet_ switches places with one of your monsters!"

"Wait, what?!" Marius pointed his trident at Alex's monster, causing it and the _Soul Droplet_ to sink into the field as if they were being submerged in water. The two monsters then reappeared on the opposite sides of the field that they were originally on.

"Now, Marius, attack his _Soul Droplet_! Infinity Surge!" Marius fired a blast of water from his trident at Alex's monster, easily destroying it (4000 - 2500 = 1500). "I end my turn."

Alex had to admit, this Guardian monster was impressive. Fortunately, he had a plan to get rid of it.

He drew, and put his plan in motion. "I activate _Mystical Space Typhoon_! And I'll use it to destroy my own face-down!" A tornado swept Alex's card off the field. "And since that card was the Trap Card _Aqua Mine_ , both of your monsters get a Mine Counter placed on them!" The Mine Counter appeared on _Seacreat Stinger Zele_ , but Marius remained unaffected. "What the-?"

Dr. Marius started laughing. "It looks like your plan failed." He remarked. " _Guardian of Change - Marius_ is unaffected by Trap Cards as long as there is more than one card in my Gate Zones.

Alex cursed. His plan had failed in the worst way possible. Still, he might be able to do a little damage… "I summon _Seacreat Hunter Psaras_!" A large creature resembling a humanoid angler fish with a crossbow appeared on the field (ATK: 1600). "Psaras, attack _Seacreat Stinger Zele_!" Psaras launched a crossbow bolt at the mine connected to Zele, detonating it and destroying the jellyfish (3000 - 1200 = 1800). "I place one card face down and end my turn."

Dr. Marius drew his card. "I'll use Marius' ability one more time." Another _Soul Droplet_ popped out of the Soul Gate and swapped spots with Alex's _Seacreat Hunter Psaras_. "Now, Marius, attack Alex's _Soul Droplet_ with Infinity Surge!" Another blast of water came Alex's way, destroying his monster. Dr. Marius sighed, since this meant he had won. "I'm rather disappointed in you, Alex. I honestly thought that you were worthy. Too bad."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that just yet!" Dr. Marius looked up to see that Alex was still standing, and, more surprisingly, still had life points.

"How did you not lose? That attack should have finished you off!"

Alex smirked. "It would have, if I hadn't activated my _Bubble Cut_ Trap Card! Thanks to this, by discarding one card from my hand, I can cut the damage I would have taken in half." (1500 - 1250 = 250). Alex was sure glad that Dr. Marius' _Seacreat Hunter Psaras_ couldn't attack this turn because of his Guardian's ability. He was even more glad that Dr. Marius had only one monster left in his Gate Zones. When all the Gate Zones were empty, his Soul Monster would be automatically destroyed. And even if he didn't activate his monster's ability again, it would now be vulnerable to Trap Cards.

"I activate my other face-down card: _Soul Replenish_! This card lets me take two monsters from my graveyard and place them in my Gate Zones!" Dr. Marius' two _Soul Droplets_ reappeared on the field and were absorbed back into the Soul Gate.

Alex cursed. This monster was basically unbeatable! It had an ability that allowed it to inflict massive damage and steal Alex's best monsters, and another ability that prevented Trap Cards from affecting it! Alex didn't know what to do! If he lost this duel, he wouldn't be able to duel in the tournament. He couldn't bear to think of what his friends would think. Or what Sadie would think…

Sadie! That was the answer! That was what was going to win Alex this duel! "Time to take it to the max!" He exclaimed, drawing a card.

"Take it to the max?" Dr. Marius repeated. "Do you really think you can win this duel? You only have 250 life points, and I have my Guardian on the field!"

"Not for long." Alex said slyly. "First, I summon _Seacreat Necromancer Vathys_!" A frightening creature that resembled a goblin shark in a scarlet cloak appeared on the field. "Now, I'll activate his ability: all I have to do is discard one card and I can summon one Water attribute monster from my graveyard. So, welcome back _Seacreat Stinger Zele_!" The armor-clad jellyfish rose up and reappeared next to Vathys. "Next, I'm opening up the Soul Gate!" Alex transferred his two monsters to his Gate Zones. A column of water shot up from the Soul Gate. "I Soul Summon _Siren Queen Amphitrite_!" A beautiful mermaid emerged from the water column (ATK: 1800).

"That monster isn't nearly strong enough to defeat my Guardian!"

"Her ATK power isn't what you need to worry about. Her ability, however… Well, I'll just show you. See, I can pick one monster in my Gate Zones, like, say, _Seacreat Stinger Zele_ , and sacrifice it. And when I do, it takes any monster with a lower level than it down to the grave with it! Zele may only be a level three, but since Soul Monsters don't have levels... " Realization dawned on Dr. Marius' face, but it was too late. Zele emerged from the Soul Gate, and Amphitrite began singing a haunting siren song. Marius and Zele, both mesmerized by the song, sped towards each other, crashing and destroying themselves.

"When a Soul Monster is destroyed, all the monsters in my Gate Zones are summoned to the field!" Dr. Marius reminded Alex as his three _Soul Droplets_ reappeared on the field.

"Yeah, but they appear in the same battle position as your monster when it was destroyed. And since your Guardian was in ATK mode, and your monsters all have zero ATK points…" Marius suddenly realized that this duel was about to come to a close. "Amphitrite, attack! Siren Screech!"

Amphitrite let out a blood-curdling shriek, destroying Dr. Marius' _Soul Droplet_ , along with the rest of his life points (1800 - 1800 = 0. WINNER: Alex).

Alex let out a celebratory whoop. "Yes! I won! So, am I worthy to be in your tournament?"

Dr. Marius smiled. "That wasn't why I was wondering whether or not you were worthy. I was wondering whether or not you were worthy to possess my power."

"What? Your power? What does that-?"

Alex was interrupted by Dr. Marius vanishing in a burst of bright blue light. When the light faded, in his place stood _Guardian of Change - Marius_.

"Okay," Alex said, "I'm dreaming, right? This is a dream. I'm going to wake up, I'll be in my bed, and it will be morning." He gave himself a pinch on the arm, but nothing happened. He was still in the airport, time was still stopped, and a Duel Monsters card still stood in front of him.

"I'm afraid this is very real." Marius said. "All will be explained to you in due time, but, for now, I believe you have a plane to catch." Another flash of blue light, and time began moving again.

"This is the final boarding call for flight 357 to Goldwater City. Final boarding call for flight 357."

That announcement jolted Alex back to reality. He rushed to get on the plane, just barely making it. As he sat down in his seat on the flight, he mulled over the duel he had just had. It couldn't have been real!

"It was very real, Alex."

Alex looked around. Where was that voice coming from? His eyes fell on his deck. He picked it up and started sorting through his cards. He had acquired a new one somehow.

In his deck was the Soul Monster card _Guardian of Change - Marius_.


End file.
